The opening stage of the rally’s third and final leg was Leon, a predominantly uphill mountain route, which had been modified since last year to include sections of roads last used in 2004 and 2005. Conditions remained dry and dusty and a lack of breeze prompted organisers to increase starting intervals from two, to three minutes to allow dust clouds to settle between each passing car. With Loeb and Gronholm relatively secure in first and second place, all eyes were on the battle for the final podium position. Mikko Hirvonen was the fastest driver on the stage, and moved into third, ahead of Dani Sordo, who was fourth-fastest. Chris Atkinson, in the new Impreza WRC2007, was sixth-fastest.
Fastest Time: Hirvonen (Ford) 10:35.8

Having climbed to an altitude of more than 2600 metres during SS17, crews drove directly to the start of the longest stage of the final leg, and a sinuous downhill route that passed through the village of Guanajuatito. Hirvonen and Sordo held their positions over the 23km test and with the end of the rally approaching, there were no significant changes to the overall classification. Chris Atkinson continued to familiarise himself with the handling of his new car. And even though a different suspension set-up for leg three hadn’t given him the performance edge he’d hoped for, he remained optimistic about its potential. “I’m doing all I can, but I haven’t quite got the ideal set-up yet to challenge Mikko or Dani. The car does feel good though, and with a little bit more testing I think we’ll be there,” said Atkinson.
Fastest Time: Gronholm (Ford) 15:12.3

The penultimate stage of Rally Mexico was the last of the proper mountain roads, and a difficult, varied challenge for the drivers. Comanjilla started with a 4km uphill sprint before a more open, flowing section which eventually joined part of Derramadero – used previously as SS11 and SS14. Another fastest time from third-placed Hirvonen moved him 16sec ahead of Sordo, but with just the Superspecial to go, nobody in the top-10 was taking any unnecessary risks.
Fastest Time: Fastest time: Hirvonen (Ford) 10:17.6

The final stage took crews back to the Leon Superspecial for another head-to-head challenge in front of thousands of spectators. The format for the stage was altered for leg three and drivers completed four laps of the specially made crossover circuit, rather than two as they had previously. Fastest over the 4.4km section was Gronholm, who secured second place overall, while Loeb was second-fastest to claim the rally victory. Chris Atkinson was joint-third on the Superspecial to finish fifth overall.
Fastest Time: Gronholm (Ford) 03:23.6

	1 Sebastien LOEB CITROEN C4 WRC 3:48:13.3   2 Marcus GRONHORM FORD Focus RS WRC 06 +55.8   3 Mikko HIRVONEN FORD Focus RS WRC 06 +1:27.7   4 Daniel SORDO CITROEN C4 WRC +1:43.7   5 Chris ATKINSON SUBARU IMPREZA WRC2007 +2:24.1   6 Manfred STOHL CITROEN Xsara WRC +3:45.5   7 Jari-Matti LATVALA FORD Focus RS WRC 06 +4:10.8   8 Matthew WILSON FORD Focus RS WRC 06* +12:22.8   9 Henning SOLBERG FORD Focus RS WRC 06 +14:15.7   10 Mark HIGGINS Mitsubishi Lancer Evo* +20:31.2

Next the Subaru World Rally Team shifts its focus to Portugal, the second consecutive gravel rally. This event is returning to the World Rally Championship for the first time since 2001. The rally will be based in southern Portugal, known for its magnificent beaches, marvellous landscape and thermal spas. The host town will be Vilamoura, with the beautiful marina the location for the ceremonial start. The rally service area is eight kilometres outside of Faro at the Algarve Stadium. The event’s 16 gravel special stages will be a step into the unknown for most of the crews and will take places in the hills to the north of Faro.